The Longest Night
by kayELRfan
Summary: Season 10. Episode 3. Debra is in the hospital, unconscious, what will happen to her...and to the baby.
1. The Accident

Disclaimer: I do not own ELR nor do I own any of the characters.

A/N: I am working on writing the 10th season of Everybody Loves Raymond, this is the second episode. Please R&R!

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"Deb!" Ray hollered out. "What are you doing?"

"I'm taking laundry downstairs!" she hollers in reply.

Debra starts to come down the stairs leading to the living room.

"Come on!" Ray shouts, causing her to stop a few stairs from the top. "We made a deal. I'll wash it and you can fold it."

"Ray!" Debra calls back to him. "I can't just sit around the house all day and do nothing; I need to feel like I'm being useful."

"Deb," he says in reply, sounding frustrated.

"I'll make you a deal," she calls out. "You can carry the basket back upstairs after it's washed and folded."

"No!" he calls back. "Get back up here."

"Ray, come on." Debra says, now sounding frustrated herself. "I'm already halfway down the stairs!"

"You're taking advantage of the situation," Ray tells her. "You waited until I was in the bathroom to make your move."

"So what if I did," Debra says as a smile creeps across her face.

"Debra, please!" Ray hollers out again.

"I'm not an invalid Ray," she yells out. "I'm just pregnant!"

"Debra!" Ray says, whining.

"Come on Ray," she says. "I'll tell you what, I left the rest of the load on the bed, I won't come back upstairs to get it; I'll let you carry it down for me."

"And carry it all back upstairs?" he asks.

"Yes," Debra replies.

There is silence for a minute as Ray thinks the offer over.

"Fine," he finally says, sounding very reluctant.

Debra smiles and begins to go downstairs, a shirt falls out of the pile of dirty clothes she is carrying and she puts her hand on the railing to hold herself up while she bends down to pick it up. She looses her grip and, clutching the pile of clothing to herself, tumbles down the stairs, hitting her head hard against the wall as she reaches the landing.

"Deb!" Ray shouts out, hearing the noise.

Silence.

"Deb! Are you OK?" Ray says, worry evident in his voice.

When all that answers his question is silence he runs out of the bathroom, obviously knocking something over as he does, and rushes to the top of the stairs.

"Deb!" he yells.

A look of complete horror crossing his face as he sees his wife lying helplessly at the bottom of the stairs, motionless, her arm, twisted, in an awkward position underneath her.

"Deb!" Ray yells, his wife's name catching in his throat as tears well up in his eyes.

He runs down the stairs, scared to even touch her, and collapses beside her helpless body.


	2. Rescue

"Hey Ray!" Robert yells as he comes through the front door, followed by Amy.

Robert begins to close the door, but then notices Ray, still sitting beside Debra, his hands hovering over top of her, afraid to touch her in case it makes things worse.

"Ray!" Robert yells, rushing over to them. "What happened?"

"I..." Ray begins, struggling to tell his brother what happened. "She…"

"Ray!" Robert hollers, grabbing his shoulders. "Ray! Snap out of it, you have to tell me what happened!"

"She was coming downstairs," he begins, slowly at first, but speaking more quickly as he tells Robert what happened. "I was in the bathroom, I heard a thud and I called out to ask Deb what it was, but she didn't answer. I ran out here and when I got here she was like this."

"She fell down the stairs?" Amy asks, having hurried to Robert's side while Ray was telling him what had happed."

Ray nods his head, tears spilling from his eyes and running down his cheeks.

"I don't know what to do," Ray says, looking up at Robert. "What do I do?"

"Ok," Robert begins. "Relax."

He gives his brother one last look before turning to Amy.

"Go call the paramedics," he tells her. "Tell them a pregnant woman fell down the stairs and we need an ambulance here right away. She isn't conscious."

Amy nods in response before running into the kitchen to use the telephone.

"Ray," Robert says, turning back to face his brother and sitting down on the steps next to Debra. "How long ago did this happen?"

"Right before you came in," Ray says, regaining his senses and becoming aware of the fact that he needed to act quickly and tell his brother everything that happened.

"Ok." Robert says, reaching down to grab Debra's wrist and feel her pulse. "Her pulse is still strong, that's a good sign."

Robert leans close to Debra's face, listening for her breathing.

"What are you doing?" Ray asks.

"She's still breathing," Robert tells him as he sits up again.

Amy rushes back into the room carrying a blanket.

"They're on their way," she tells Ray and Robert. "Cover her with this."

Ray takes the blanket from his sister-in-law and gently covers Debra with it, kissing her cheek before standing up.

"Where are you going?" Robert asks him.

"The kids are going to be home from school soon," he explains. "I need to ask Ma if she can stay here."

"I'll do that Ray," Amy tells him, putting her hand on his shoulder. "You stay here with Debra. I'll meet you guys at the hospital."

"Thanks," Ray says as Amy gives him a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek before running out the door.

Ray and Robert sit down beside Debra again; Robert checking Debra's pulse and making sure she is still breathing every minute. A few minutes later there is a hurried knock on the door. Robert jumps up to get it and when he opens it there are 2 paramedics standing there with a stretcher. Robert opens the door so they can come in and points to Debra. They move the stretcher over to the stairs and begin to asses the situation.


	3. Saved

Debra is laying in a hospital bed, hooked up to numerous monitors and machines. Ray, sitting in a chair beside her bed, is fast asleep with her hand held tightly against his cheek. As Ray sleeps, Robert and Amy are escorted into the room by a doctor.

"Has he been here all night?" Amy asks the doctor, looking at Ray.

The doctor nods before leaving the room.

"Should we wake him up?" Robert asks, looking down at Amy.

"No," she tells him. "He's been through so much; let him sleep while he can."

Robert nods as they walk toward the two chairs on the opposite side of the bed and sit down.

"Hey Deb," Amy says as she takes her hand. "We're here now. Everything is going to be ok. Hold on ok?"

Amy stands up as Debra squeezes her hand.

"What?" Robert says, looking up at her.

"She squeezed my hand." Amy tells him.

Robert and Amy look at Debra.

"Ray?" Debra says; her voice barely audible.

"Ray!" Robert says, shaking him awake. "Ray!"

Ray sits up, slowly regaining his senses and realizing where he is.

"What?" he says as he looks up at Robert.

"Ray," Robert says. "I think Debra's waking up."

"Ray," Debra says, louder this time.

"I'm here honey," he says, squeezing her hand.

"Ray," Debra says again.

"I'm here honey," Ray tells her. "I'm here."

"Ray," she says. "Ray, my head hurts."

Ray smiles, realizing his wife is going to be alright.

"I know honey; you hit it pretty hard, the doctor will give you something to make it go away soon."

The doctor walks in and sees that Debra is awake.

"How long as she been awake for?" he asks, walking over to the bed.

"Just a few seconds," Ray tells him.

The doctor checks the various monitors Debra is hooked up to before turning to talk to her.

"How are you feeling Mrs. Barone?" he asks her.

"My head hurts," she tells him.

"Well I suspect it does," he tells her. "Your husband tells me you took a pretty nasty fall."

"I did?" she asks, totally oblivious to the events of the previous evening.

"Yes," the doctor tells her.

"Oh my God!" she exclaims, a very worried expression coming over her face. "The baby, is the baby alright?"

"We don't know for sure yet," he tells her. "We wanted to make sure you were ok first."

"When will you know?" Debra asks, tears forming in her eyes.

Debra goes to move right hand onto her stomach but can't because it's in a sling.

"What happened?" Debra asks, looking down at her arm.

"You broke it when you fell down the stairs," the doctor tells her. "You're very lucky that's all that was broken."

"The baby, when will you know about the baby?" Debra asks again, more urgently now.

"Well do the tests today if we feel you're up to it," the doctor tells her. "For right now you need to rest."

"Ray?" she says, turning to look at him.

"Yeah honey?" Ray asks.

"Is it ok if I got to sleep?" she asks. "I'm really tired."

Ray turns to look at the doctor, who nods.

"Sure sweetie," Ray tells her. "I'll be right here when you wake up."

She smiles at him before drifting off to sleep.


	4. Her Greatest Fear

Debra is sitting up in her hospital bed, reading a magazine, when a nurse enters her room.

"Mrs. Barone?" she says, causing Debra to look up from her magazine. "There's something I need to tell you."

"What is it?" Debra asks, setting her magazine down beside her on the bed.

"I've just received the results from the tests we ran this morning," the nurse tells her.

"What did they say?" Debra asks.

Before the nurse can answer, Ray comes into the room carrying a bunch of balloons and a vase full of flowers.

"Hey butternut," he says happily, giving her a peck on the cheek before setting the flowers down on the table beside her bed.

"Hey," she says, giving him a smile.

"How are you feeling?" he asks, taking a seat on the chair beside the bed.

"Fine," she tells him. "But can we talk later? They got my test results back."

"Oh," Ray says. "What did they say?"

"I was just about to find out." Debra says, turning back to the nurse.

Ray takes Debra's hand as he also looks up at the nurse.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Barone," she begins, taking a deep breath. "The baby didn't make it."

Tears immediately spring to Debra's eyes.

"What?" she asks.

Ray moves to sit on the bed beside her and put his arms around her, trying to hold back the tears that are now sliding down his cheeks.

"I'm sorry," the nurse continues. "There was nothing we could do."

"But," Debra says, barely able to speak through her sobs. "There's no way you could have made a mistake?"

"No ma'am," the nurse tells her. "The doctor is positive the results are correct."

"You can't do the test over again?" Debra asks.

"It wouldn't change anything Mrs. Barone," the nurse tells her. "I truly am sorry."

"Please!" Debra cries, clutching at the nurses hand with her unbroken arm. "There's got to be something you can do!"

"I'm sorry ma'am," the nurse says, her own eyes looking a little misty. She tries to think of something more comforting to say, but when she is unable to do so, she shakes her head. "I'm sorry."

She pats Debra's hand before turning and leaving the room, shutting the door behind her.

"No!" Debra screams as she turns her face into Ray's shirt, her whole body shaking with her cries.

"No!" she hollers out again, beating Ray's chest with her hand.

"Shhhh," Ray consoles her, wrapping his arms carefully but tightly around her.

"No," Debra says again, her voice muffled by Ray's shirt.

"It's ok," Ray tells her. "I'm here. We'll get through this. It's going to be alright."

"No!" Debra hollers out again, raising her head to look him in the eyes. "No it won't! It won't! Can't you hear me? IT WON'T!"


	5. The Dream

"IT WON'T!" Debra screams, tears streaming down her face onto her pillow. "IT WON'T! IT WON'T! IT WON'T!"

"Deb!" Ray says, shaking her gently. "Deb, wake up, you're having a bad dream."

"IT WON'T!" she continues to cry. "No! It won't!"

"Deb!" Ray says again, this time a bit louder. "Deb, wake up!"

Debra wakes up, tears still spilling from her eyes, and looks up at Ray.

"Ray!" she cries as he sits down on the edge of the bed and holds her close to himself, gently rocking her from side to side.

"It's ok," he tells her, kissing the top of her head. "It was just a dream, you're safe and everything is alright."

"Oh Ray," she says, wiping her eyes. "It was the most horrible dream I've ever had in my life!"

"Shhhh," Ray consoles her. "Everything is going to be ok now, I'm here."

"It was horrible!" Debra tells him again. "It was horrible!"

"What was it about?" Ray asks in an effort to reassure her that he was there for her.

"I lost the baby," she tells him. "They came in and told me that I lost the baby."

"Oh," Ray sighs, tears springing up into his eyes, he had had that same dream the first night Debra was in the hospital.

"You kept telling me it would all be ok," she continues. "Saying everything was alright."

"I did?" Ray asks, now realizing that his previous words may not have been his best choice, he holds her closer to him and stroking her hair with his hand.

"It was terrible," She says, tears coming into her eyes again.

"I know honey," he tells her. "I know."

"Ray," she says; a note of worry in her voice. "What if it's true, what if I have lost the baby."

"You don't know that yet," Ray reassures her. "That dream doesn't mean anything."

"But Ray," Debra begins before Ray cuts her off.

"Deb, relax ok?" he tells her. "Don't worry about it until you talk to the doctor."

"How can I stop worrying about it?" she asks, tears still falling down her cheeks.

He stops to think about that for a second, wondering how he can tell her to stop worry about something that had occupied her thoughts for nearly 4 months now.

"I don't know," Ray says, unable to think of a way to comfort her now.

Debra pulls Ray toward her to give him a kiss, their tears mingling together as their lips meet. Ray holds her close to him as she cradles her belly with her unbroken arm.


	6. Be Strong

Ray is sitting in the living room, watching television as he waits for the children to come home from school. They didn't know what was happening yet, they had been staying across the street and all they had been told was that their mom was in the hospital and that she was alright now. He needed to explain things to them, but how?

"Dad!" Ally exclaims as she bursts through the front door.

"Hey hun," Ray says, turning off the television and getting up to embrace his daughter.

"Dad, where's mom?" Ally asks, a note of worry in her voice. Her grandparents had told her she would get to see her mom today. She thought that meant Debra was coming home.

"Well," Ray begins. "She's still in the hospital."

"But," Ally begins. "Grandma said that I could see her today."

"Well you can," Ray explains. "As soon as your brothers come home you guys are going to come to the hospital with me and visit her."

"Oh," Ally replies, smiling.

"Ally," Ray says, causing her smile to fade from her face as she looks at her father's face. "There's something I need to explain to you."

"What?" Ally asks, setting down her backpack and taking a seat beside Ray on the couch.

"Well," Ray begins, thinking how to break the news to her. "Your mom is OK, she has a broken arm, but that's all."

"Yeah," Ally says, wondering why her dad looked so worried if Debra was alright.

"We don't know if the baby is alright," Ray explains. "The doctors ran some tests this morning."

"What?" Ally asks, tears forming in her eyes. She had finally just started to feel excited about having a new baby brother or sister, this couldn't be happening.

"Don't worry about it yet," Ray tells her. "We won't know anything for sure until tomorrow morning."

"How's mom taking it?" Ally asks, realizing it must be even harder for Debra.

"She's doing alright right now," Ray says. "But the reason I'm telling you this is because I don't want you to talk about it with her at the hospital."

"Why not?" Ally asks, puzzled.

"Your mom has had a rough couple of days," Ray tells her. "She's finally gotten to a place where she is not worrying about absolutely everything at the same time, and I want that to last as long as it can."

"Oh," Ally says, looking down.

"We have to prepare ourselves for the worst Ally," Ray begins, taking his daughter's hand in his. "We all have to pray that the baby did make it, but if not…"

Ray's voice trails off as a tear slides down his cheek. He quickly wipes it away before Ally looks up at him.

"If not?" Ally says, not even attempting to wipe away the tears that slide down her cheeks.

"If not," Ray begins again. "It's going to be hard. Your mom will not be able to handle it Ally, and I'll need your help."

"Of course Daddy," Ally says, holding her father's hand tighter. "You know I'll do anything."

Ray smiles at his daughter, noticing how grown up she's become. How could this young woman sitting in front of him be the same little baby girl he used to cradle in his arms.


	7. Family Reunion

"Mom!" the twins holler as they rush into Debra's hospital room and wrap their arms around her.

"Not so tight guys," Debra says, a huge smile on her face.

"Sorry," Michael and Geoffrey say as they quickly back away. "We won't hug you anymore."

"No, it's OK," Debra says, laughing. "Just not too tight, alright?"

"Alright!" Michael and Geoffrey say as they throw their arms around her again.

Ray and Ally walk into the hospital room.

"Come on guys!" he says as the twins look up at him, a guilty look on their faces. "I told you not to run ahead, and what do you do?"

"Awe Ray," Debra says, giving him a smile. "It's alright."

The boys sit on the sides of the bed as Ally gives Debra a hug and a kiss.

"Hey mom," she says, sitting down beside Michael. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine hun," Debra says, giving her a smile. "Your dad has told me how much help you've been around the house. I want to let you know that I really appreciate it and it helps me relax knowing someone is taking care of the boys and your father."

Ally gives Debra a great big smile.

"Funny! Very funny," Ray says, coming over and giving Debra a kiss.

"Hi sweetie," Debra says, smiling at him.

"Hi," Ray replies.

"So I want to know what you guys have been doing while I've been here," Debra says as she turns to look at the kids again. "Are you having fun at Grandma and Grandpa's?"

"Yeah," Ally tells her. "They've been really great."

"Really?" Debra asks in disbelief.

"Yeah," Ally says. "I've pleasantly surprised."

They are all laughing as Robert comes into the room, still dressed in his police uniform.

"Hey everybody," Robert says, giving them all a smile.

"Uncle Robert!" Michael and Geoffrey say as they get up to give him a hug.

"Hey guys," Robert says, messing up their hair after giving them both a hug.

"Hey Robert," Debra says.

"Hey Deb," Robert replies. "Just thought I'd stop by on my way home and keep you company for a bit, but I see you've already got a full house so I can come back another time."

"No, stay!" Debra tells him. "I've missed having everybody around at the same time."

"Watch it," Roberts tells her. "Ma might hear you!"

Everybody laughs. Then, as if on cue, Frank and Marie walk through the door.

"Hello dears," Marie greets everybody.

"Speaking of the devil," Ray comments.

"What was that dear?" Marie asks, looking over at Raymond.

"Nothing ma," Ray says, struggling not to burst out laughing.

"How have you been Debra?" Marie asks, walking over and giving Debra a hug.

"I'm doing well thanks," Debra says, surprised at the fact that even though her in-laws have showed up unannounced, she doesn't want to impale herself with a pencil.

Franks walks over to the side of the bed.

"Hey Frank," Debra says, smiling up at him.

"Hey there sweetheart," Frank says, bending down to give her a hug and a kiss.

"I really appreciate all of you coming to visit me," Debra beings. "But I'm really tired, so do you think we could continue the party tomorrow?"

"Of course dear," Marie says, and then turning to Raymond. "Would you like the kids to stay with us again?"

"Could they ma?" Ray asks. "I'd like to stay here with Debra."

"Of course dear," Marie says.

"Thank you so much Marie," Debra says, squeezing her hand.

"Don't even think about it," Marie tells her, giving her another hug.

"OK kids, give your mom a hug and let's get going," Frank says.

"Bye mom," Ally says as she gives her mom a hug.

"Can we come back tomorrow?" Michael asks, giving Debra and hug and a kiss.

"Of course you can," Debra tells him as Geoffrey also gives her a hug and a kiss.

"I'll be at home when you get home from school tomorrow guys," Ray tells them, giving them all a hug. "And then we can come and visit your mom."

"Bye," the kids say as they wave to Ray and Debra before following Frank and Marie out into the hallway.


	8. It's Alright

Ray is sitting on the end of the bed while they are playing a game of checkers.

"Ha! Take that!" Debra says, jumping his last three pieces.

"Hey no fair," Ray protests. "You cheated!"

"Pure talent baby!" Debra jokingly replies.

As Ray is cleaning up the game a doctor walks into the room.

"Mr. and Mrs. Barone?" the doctor asks.

"Yes?" Debra says, taking Ray's hand and pulling him down on the bed beside her.

"I'm Dr. Baker," he tells them. "I came to bring you the results from the tests we ran yesterday."

Debra squeezes Ray's hand as he puts his other arm around her.

"I'm happy to tell you that your baby is perfectly healthy and doing just fine," he says with a smile.

"Thank you!" Debra manages to say as tears of joy and relief spill from her eyes.

"Other than that broken arm, you're perfectly healthy and you'll be able to go home tomorrow," The doctor tells them.

"Thank you," Ray says, a tear running down his own cheek.

* * *

The End 

A/N: Stay tuned - episode 4 coming soon!


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